In a significant push towards enhancing railway safety and modernising critical infrastructure, Indian Railways has approved a ₹274-crore project to replace conventional relay-based signalling systems with advanced Electronic Interlocking (EI) technology at 20 locations in the Malda Division (West Bengal) of Eastern Railway.
The project, announced by the Ministry of Railways on Thursday, aims to improve the reliability, efficiency and maintainability of signalling systems on one of Eastern Railway’s busiest High Utilisation Network (HUN) corridors, supporting the growing volume of passenger and freight traffic.
Under the sanctioned project, relay-based Panel Interlocking (PI) and Route Relay Interlocking (RRI) systems will be replaced with state-of-the-art Electronic Interlocking at 18 railway stations and two Intermediate Block Signalling (IBS) locations in the Malda Division.
Electronic Interlocking is a modern, fail-safe signalling technology that automates route setting and signalling operations while significantly reducing the risk of equipment failures and human error. The upgraded system is expected to improve operational flexibility, minimise service disruptions, enable quicker restoration during faults and enhance the punctuality of train services.
According to the Ministry, the modernisation will strengthen train safety and facilitate faster, smarter and more reliable train operations on high-density routes. It will also prepare the signalling network for the future integration of advanced railway technologies such as the indigenous Kavach automatic train protection system and other next-generation signalling solutions.
The project forms part of Indian Railways’ broader strategy to modernise signalling infrastructure across the national network by adopting advanced technologies aimed at improving operational safety, efficiency and capacity.
With increasing demand for both passenger and freight transportation, the Electronic Interlocking upgrade is expected to provide a robust technological foundation for managing higher traffic volumes while ensuring safer and more dependable railway operations in the Malda Division.
